A handheld LIBS analyzer may include a housing enclosing a laser source, one or more spectrometers, and various optical and electronic components. The laser beam passes out of the housing via the nose section thereof. See U.S. Pat. No. 9,360,367; U.S. pending patent application Ser. No. 14/874,726; and U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,426,019; 8,436,991; 7,394,537; and 9,506,869 all incorporated herein by this reference.
In some instances, it would be desirable to use a handheld LIBS analyzer to analyze liquids. For example, in the field of lithium brines, currently a sample is taken from the brine location and sent to a laboratory to analyze the present lithium concentration. This process, however, can take several days or even weeks. The lithium content may also be an important variable in recovery methods. See U.S. Pat. No. 6,936,229 incorporated herein by this reference. Oil analysis, for example, is another area where a handheld LIBS analyzer could be used. See U.S. Pat. No. 9,366,634 incorporated herein by this reference.
As noted in U.S. Pat. No. 8,687,189, incorporated herein by this reference, analysis of liquids is difficult using a handheld LIBS device since the laser pulse dumps a large amount of energy which sends a shock wave and splatters the liquid which interferes with the physical observation of the emission due to liquid or dried residue on the device optics and which can also cross contaminate the next sample.